Staging the Musical

2014 Elective Course

July 7-11, 2014

Ashland, Oregon

Work with a professional theatre director to develop and/or refine your skills for directing a musical. A week-long, 3-credit graduate level course geared toward high school and community college theatre educators covering the director’s role, the preproduction planning and rehearsal process. The following facets of Staging a Musical will be addressed:

Pre-Production: Advice on analyzing the script and score, audition techniques, designing and monitoring your rehearsal and technical schedules, collaborating with the musical director and choreographer… and what to do if they don’t exist.

How to conceive and adapt the script and production to suit your program: making creative design decisions and finding and developing ways to conceive a script in order to make a big musical small, or a small musical big.

Exercises addressing the unique demands of performing in a musical: learning techniques to help an inexperienced or young actor develop a convincing character who can burst into song, the joyful collaboration of acting in a musical and creative ways to stage crowd scenes, and keep a chorus engaged.

Discussion of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival productions of Into the Woods and Cocoanuts.

Application Information

Space is limited to sixteen students. This course serves as an elective course for the Master of Theatre Studies degree. Registration prioity is given to Master of Theatre Studies students until February 15, 2014. For non-program applicants, please contact Emmy Graham if you are interested in taking this course; you will be placed on a waiting list and admitted on a first come, first served basis. If openings become available, you will be notified by May 15, 2014, and given information about registering.

Prerequisite: Bachelor's degree or permission of the instructor.

Students who are new to Southern Oregon University and are non-program applicants should apply online as non-admitted students AFTER contacting ACTS.

This online process will generate a MySOU account and provide registration instructions.

2014 Course Fees

Tuition $1095 Materials/tickets $89

Acceptance Deposit

Upon acceptance a nonrefundable deposit will be due in order to save your spot. Information regarding the deposit will be included in your acceptance letter to be mailed by May 15. Active MoTS candidates will not be assessed an additional deposit; however, a $50 penalty fee will apply to any elective course dropped after May 30, 2014.

Five nights of lodging (Sunday, 7/6, arrival; Friday, 7/11, program ends and Masters Program begins) Non-program students depart on Saturday, 7/12, by 10:00 a.m.

NOTE: For Program participants, lodging on Friday night, July 11, is covered with your Main Session Housing charges. For non-program participants, lodging on Friday night, July 11, will be an additional $58.

Single room

$290 ($348 for non-program participants who incur an additional day of lodging)

Meal plan

$135 ($162 for non-program participants who incur an additional day of meals)(Sunday dinner 7/6 - through lunch Friday 7/11; meal plan includes breakfast, lunch and dinner)